Guyana’s Ransford Goodluck, the 2010 West Indies fullbore shooting champion was dethroned by arch-rival Norris Gomez when the curtains came down on the individual competition of the West Indies Fullbore Rifle Shooting championships Thursday in Antigua/Barbuda.
Gomez and compatriot Justin Lall took the top two positions leaving the Guyanese shooters trailing in a closely fought three-day competition held for the first time in Antigua.
Gomez shot 469 points with 39 V-bulls over 300, 500 and 600 yards to take the grand aggregate prize from Lall who shot 467 points with 33 V-bulls and Goodluck, third with 464.44.
Goodluck had the distinction of recording the most Vs (44) in the competition. He was aiming for a record 11th regional individual title.
Serge Bissonnette of Bermuda copped the fourth place with 463.36 and fifth was Jamaican Dennis Nelson with 463.29.
National captain Mahendra Persaud was sixth overall with 461.35 while former national champion Lennox Braithwaite was two places behind in eighth place with 457.32. National vice captain Dylan Fields placed 14th with 450.32, Richard Fields 19th with 442.23 and Inspector Dane Blair 441.22 in 20th position.
Guyanese ‘O’ Class shooter Peter Persaud was second in that category with 433.23 finishing behind Thomas Greenaway of Antigua who recorded 451.29.
Former national captain Paul Archer and Lt. Col. Terry Stuart placed third and fourth respectively in the ‘O’ category.
The shooters will now turn their attention to the team match with Guyana set to defend the Anchor Cup regional short range (300, 500 and 600 yards) shooting supremacy tomorrow Saturday against stiff opposition expected from the Trinidadians, Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados and the host nation Antigua/Barbuda.